


Despite My Growing Fears

by Nevanna



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Electrocution, Gen, Nightmares, Post-Episode: s02e20 Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 13:31:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10698024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nevanna/pseuds/Nevanna
Summary: Stan and Ford are trying to move forward, but the specter of Bill Cipher lives on in nightmares.





	Despite My Growing Fears

**Author's Note:**

> This story requires full knowledge of the series. It was inspired by a prompt from [this list](http://angstmemes.tumblr.com/post/128497219610/nightmare-starters), a request from the lovely Nelja, and a headcanon that lodged in my brain after re-watching the series finale... not necessarily in that order. 
> 
> The title is from the song "The Cave" by Mumford & Sons.

“I don’t know why you’re so grumpy, Fordsy!” Stan – or, rather, the creature inside Stan – takes a step forward. “We both know you were looking forward to seeing me again!”

“Let’s not waste any time with lies,” Ford growls. He’s suspended within the Fearamid, his wrists and ankles shackled, his body weak from wave after wave of electrical assault. “How can I convince you to leave my brother alone?”

“What are you willing to offer?” Bill returns, stretching Stan’s face in a too-wide grin. “C’mon, let’s hear it. Impress me, Sixer! I know you still want to.”

“The only thing I want…”

“Does this sound familiar?” Bill suddenly imitates Ford’s voice. “ _‘There’s a simple equation that could collapse the barrier!’_ You didn’t even have to tell me that much, but part of you still wants your muse to pat you on the head and tell you what a good, smart boy you are.”

“Stop it!” Ford snaps. _Stanley,_ he thinks, _I’m so sorry…_

“You can lie to yourself all you want, pal, but you could never lie to me. I gave you something that you’ll crave for the rest of your freakish life.” Bill’s grin widens. Ford wasn’t even sure that was possible. “However long that turns out to be.”

Lightning jolts into Ford’s veins, into his head, and he wakes with his jaws clamped shut against a scream.

The cabin is warm and dark, and he can hear Stan’s snores from the other bunk. Ford gropes for the lantern at his bedside, slips into his clothes, and is outside on the deck before he can follow the impulse to pry his twin’s eyes open and make _absolutely sure_ …

He takes a chilly, salty breath, rubs at the scars on his wrists, and looks for familiar constellations in the sky above him.

Bill Cipher is – _was_ – an expert at twisting the truth. He knows – he _knew_ – that as much as Ford had relished praise from his parents and teachers, that meant _nothing_ compared to attention and approval from a mystical creature that had existed for millennia. Even long after Ford knew what his “muse” really was, a new discovery would summon the treacherous memory of Bill’s flattery. 

Maybe there really _was_ no other reason why Ford admitted to knowing an equation that would have let Bill escape from Gravity Falls.

“Hey, Sixer.”

Ford whirls around, raising his fist. A hand catches it mid-swing. “Stanley?”

“You were expecting maybe…” Stan cuts himself off. “Guess we both know who you were expecting.” He leans into the circle of lantern light. “Any sign of him in the old peepers?”

Ford searches Stan’s eyes. “Not in the slightest,” he sighs. “Forgive me.”

“Already forgiven,” Stan huffs. “I know your dreams get pretty nasty, Stanford – mine do, too – but Cipher ain’t coming back. We’re going to be okay.”

“How do I know I’m not still dreaming?” Ford asks. “You’re acting really strangely.” He sees Stan frown. “Well, for one thing, I was expecting a joke… perhaps something along the lines of, ‘What do nerds have nightmares about – getting less than an A-plus on an exam?’”

“Would it reassure you if I went inside and got the joke book?” Stan socks him on the shoulder. “Or, you know… I could just leave you alone.”

Nightmares are Bill’s home, and his greatest weapon, and the place that he is most likely to have survived. That knowledge brings too much fear and uncertainty for either of them to face alone. “I’d prefer that you do neither of those things,” Ford says. Stan squeezes his shoulder, and the two of them stare off into the night, side by side.


End file.
